Conclusion
The Ministry of Jesus
As recorded in these four gospel accounts Jesus fulfilled God’s law and all of the Old Testament prophecies regarding His first coming. The gospel message, the “good news,” is that salvation is available to anyone who accepts Jesus as their Savior. He paid the full price for our redemption, nothing more is required to be saved, nothing needs to be added, so why does the New Testament continue? Because there is more to a being a disciple of Jesus, salvation is the first step as it gets us into heaven after we die, but while we are alive we follow Him daily. How is that done?
New Testament Continues
The Acts of the Apostles
We can learn a lot through watching or reading about other people’s experiences. The first book after the gospel books is the book of Acts, It chronicles a period of approximately thirty years after Jesus’ ascension. It offers an intimate view of the struggles of the apostles and the beginning of the Christian church movement. We read about how God used the apostle Peter and then later Paul, who was once a persecutor of Christians. The book includes Paul’s encounter with Jesus and how he became one of God’s greatest evangelists. It also documents three missionary journeys where Paul and his companions evangelized a large geographic area while planting several churches along the way. The book of Acts provides an invaluable insight on the early church.
The Epistles
After the book of Acts we find twenty-one epistles (Greek for written letters) written by several authors including: James, John, Jude, Paul, Peter, and one unknown (author of Hebrews). Some were written to churches and some to individuals. Topics included basic Christian doctrine and instruction, how to live as a Christian, warnings against false teaching, and corrections to problems identified. The majority of the epistles were written by Paul, often in response to an issue or to offer words of encouragement to churches he had previously planted. A typical epistle of Paul’s began with doctrine followed by practical application of that doctrine. Several of his letters were written while he was in prison. Most of what we call Christian doctrine today comes from the epistles.
Revelation
It is the only book that offers a special blessing to those that read and accept as truth (see Revelation 1:3). Not only does the book outline yet-future events, it provides the “end cap” to the Bible, exposing the entire plan of God from creation to re-creation, which precedes the beginning of our eternal existence with Jesus. The book has a reputation of being difficult and controversial, however, since the Bible is its own best commentary, only a good understanding of the Old Testament is required, as it averages more than two allusions to the Old Testament per verse.
So You Can Know
The whole reason we have the Bible is to provide the good news that eternal condemnation can be avoided through God’s plan of salvation through the blood of Jesus. Only you can make that choice. Regardless of who you are or what you may have done (or not done), if you repent of your sins and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, He will forgive you, just as the apostle John wrote. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1:9-10)
Have not accepted Jesus’ free offer for salvation? Wait no longer, here is a simple prayer that Billy Graham wrote to save you now, “Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In Your Name. Amen.”